Category: Throwback Thursday

  • Highwire By Badlands

    Highwire By Badlands

    badlandsAs a guitar player, one that is into bands and players of yore that were considered guitar gods, I delved into all kinds of bands and players. One such player that I loved while learning to play guitar was Jake E. Lee. Jake came into guitar god fame by getting that coveted guitar slinger spot for Ozzy Ozbourne. He recorded two albums with the Oz master then went on to start a band called Badlands. Still rockin, but in a very bluesy sense compared to the metal stylings he had with Ozzy. All this leads me into the opening cut of the debut release of Badlands self titled disc, Highwire. Super energetic and bluesy in the vein of Led Zeppelin with a flair of metal = something that still rocks years later after it came out.

    Why am I even thinking about this tune? Well last weekend was NAMM and a bunch of my friends happened to catch Jake E. Lee’s new band performing at a NAMM event. I was at a separate event so I missed the performance but I heard about it and that Jake was still rockin’ hard.

    Highwire

    YouTube player

    Standin’ here, I got my eye on you
    Your story bleeds, but there’s no review
    Honey drip and set my soul on fire
    Stealin’ hearts got me walkin’ the wire
    You’re gonna lose control
    All night long
    When I find my love, love, love
    High wire

    Flash a smile, like a shiny blade
    Everyone there thinks ya got it made
    Sorry, child, can you take me higher
    But you keep me hangin’ on your lonely wire
    You’re gonna lose control
    All night long
    When I find my love, love, love
    High wire

    (Solo)

    Oh, feels so good
    You give me lovin’ like no one could
    You turn me child, inside out
    Still you leave me drownin’ in a sea of doubt

    You’re gonna lose control
    All night long
    You’re gonna steal my soul, mama
    You can’t go wrong
    When I find my love, love, love
    High wire

    Love, love, love
    Oh, sweet child, I know where you come from now
    High wire, baby
    Oh, oh, oh

    Enjoy and rock on!

  • Rise Today By Alter Bridge

    Rise Today By Alter Bridge

    rise-today-alter-bridgeHot damn it’s that awesome time of the year. Today is the opening day of NAMM. Wanna find me right now – I’m somewhere in the annals of the Anaheim Convention Center mingling with my endorsers (hint, they’re listed at the bottom my website here), and meeting fellow musicians that I don’t get to see all that often. One such musician that I’ve only met in passing is Myles Kennedy. He is hands down one of my favorite rock singers of all time. The dude has awesome clean tones, amazing grit, and serious emotion as he sings. It doesn’t hurt that he’s got a great charisma as well. I’m a fan. It would be a dream come true to craft a song with Myles, however, I don’t know him well enough to get him on the phone to make it happen. Not yet anyway.

    Here’s one of their songs where you get the roller coaster of clean to grit and high rises on the melody along with cool and smashing guitar tones. Enjoy Rise Today by Alter Bridge as vocalized by Myles Kennedy. If you want to get some instant visual updates of my adventures at NAMM then follow me on Instagram.

    Rise Today

    YouTube player

    The wind is blowing cold
    Have we lost our way tonight?
    Have we lost our hope to sorrow?

    Feels like we’re all alone
    Running further from what’s right
    And there are no more heroes to follow

    So what are we becoming?
    Where did we go wrong?

    [Chorus:]
    Yeah, oh yeah
    I want to rise today
    And change this world

    Yeah, oh yeah
    Oh, won’t you rise today
    And change this world?

    The sun is beating down
    Are we ever gonna change
    Can we stop the blood from running?

    Our time is running out
    Hope we find a better way
    Before we find we’re left with nothing

    For every life that’s taken
    So much love is wasted

    [Chorus:]
    Yeah, oh yeah
    I want to rise today
    And change this world

    Yeah, oh yeah
    So won’t you rise today
    And change

    This world
    Only love can set it right
    This world
    If only peace would never die

    Seems to me that we’ve got each other wrong
    Was the enemy just your brother all along?

    [Chorus:]
    Yeah, oh yeah
    I want to rise today
    And change this world

    Yeah, oh yeah
    Oh won’t you rise today
    And change this world?

    Yeah, oh yeah
    I want to rise today
    And change this world

    Yeah, oh yeah
    I want to rise today
    And change this world

  • Maybe I'm Amazed By Wings

    Maybe I'm Amazed By Wings

    wings-paul-mccartneyMy parents were big time fans of classic rock. What that means is that while I was wee little lad running around the house, really cool melodic oriented rock music was the sound du jour. One of the bands that got a lot of rotation was Wings. Sometimes known as Paul McCartney and Wings. One of my favorite songs he’s written is his ode to Linda his wife, Maybe I’m Amazed. I really love the music, the melody and the flow. It’s one of the most perfect love songs of all time. Period.

    One time I decided to learn the song and translate it to acoustic guitar and vocal for a live show in Hollywood, CA. It went over extremely well. In fact, thinking about it now, I need to dig that song back out and put it back under my fingers and stuff the words into my mouth. I really don’t play enough cover tunes. Mmmm. Mmmm. Good, that’s the feeling I get when it comes to this song and now I want you to feel that same feeling. Especially if you’ve never really taken the time to enjoy the song. Enjoy it now!

    Maybe I’m Amazed

    YouTube player

    Maybe I’m amazed at the way you love me all the time,
    And maybe I’m afraid of the way I love you.

    Maybe I’m amazed at the way you pulled me out of time,
    You hung me on the line.
    Maybe I’m amazed at the way I really need you.

    Baby, I’m a man, maybe I’m a lonely man
    Who’s in the middle of something
    That he doesn’t really understand.

    Baby, I’m a man,
    And maybe you’re the only woman who could ever help me.
    Baby, won’t you help me to understand?
    Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh.

    Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
    Oh, oh, oh,
    Oh, oh, oh, oh,
    Oh.

    Baby, I’m a man, maybe I’m a lonely man
    Who’s in the middle of something
    That he doesn’t really understand.

    Baby, I’m a man,
    And maybe you’re the only woman who could ever help me.
    Baby, won’t you help me to understand?
    Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh.

    Maybe I’m amazed at the way you’re with me all the time,
    Maybe I’m afraid of the way I leave you.

    Maybe I’m amazed at the way you help me sing my song,
    Right me when I’m wrong-
    Maybe I’m amazed at the way I really need you.